accompany me. ”
Damn right I will. “Yes, Prince Jagger,” he said respectfully. Jagger turned back to his father.
“I’ll talk to them, and report back to you. In the meantime, contact the Lycans. Tell them they must
bring us the shipment of bauxite back if they want to see their family member alive again. ” He strode
rapidly from the room, calling over his shoulder, “Come with me, Niki. ” Nikolai followed him to the
door where he waited impatiently with his hand outstretched to take Nikolai’s arm. Nikolai stepped
up next to him and extended his arm so the prince could be escorted from the room. As they walked down the long corridor, Nikolai bent down to whisper in his ear. “Planning to
kill me, little Prince?”
“What? Oh, of course not, but your stepbrothers won’t know that. It’s just a bluff, Niki. ” He
looked up at him with affection. “Of course, I do still owe you that spanking. ”
Nikolai grinned down at him. “Your wish is my command, Princeling. Do we have time before
we leave?”
“Stop. Don’t distract me. I have to prepare myself to meet with these people, and I want to keep
my anger. There’ll be time to play with you later on. ”
“I certainly hope so,” Nikolai murmured. The prince shot him a quelling glance and led him back
to their rooms so he could retrieve his weapons. “Put your boots on too, Niki. They didn’t cut those
off, thank goodness. I never would have found anything to cover those big feet of yours. I need to get
my sword and my dagger. ”
“I need one too, little Prince, if you want me to defend you,” Nikolai said, sitting down to pull
on the boots. He glanced up at Jagger when he hesitated. “Princeling, I have no wish to harm you.
Surely you realize that by now. ”
“Yes,” the prince said slowly. “But we’re still getting to know each other, Niki. I’ll give you a
small dagger to defend yourself, if necessary, but no sword yet. I’ll take care of you, should they
prove treacherous. ”
The idea of his little prince taking care of him warmed his heart, but at the same time, it alarmed
Nikolai a little. Jagger was way too over-confident about his abilities, even cocky. No matter how
well-trained he might be, he was still young and couldn’t be all that experienced. His body was
beautifully muscled, but still small and slim. Up against the Rogers, he might not fare as well as he
seemed to think. The Rogers may be thieves, but they had a well-deserved reputation for being
ruthless and malevolent. It wouldn’t do for his prince to underestimate them. Nikolai didn’t really